My first post this month was about how diet and exercise don't have a rule book. It's something that's on my mind so often that I'm surprised I haven't written about it before. I also wrote about common misconceptions about yoga, because too often somebody's reason for not doing yoga even though they want to isn't accurate anyway. Sunday mornings have become my time to talk about three things from that week. I stepped a little out of my blogging comfort zone and wrote about how it's time to speak up. Lastly, I read a few really unique books this month.

Plot: There's something weird about the river that runs through town. Women have gone missing and turned up dead in the water. Most recently, it was Nel Abbott, a single mother. Her sister, Jules, takes in Nel's fifteen-year-old daughter, Lena, who is devastated, convinced Nel's death was a suicide. Jules isn't convinced. Together, the two of them have to try to put the pieces together and find out what really happened to Nel.

1 | Last Monday my family and I saw the total solar eclipse in southern Illinois. It was awesome. We watched it from a grassy area with a gazebo and a decent crowd of people. Everyone was gathered around together, sitting on the steps or in lawn chairs, or sprawled out on blankets in the grass.

I've been practicing yoga for about six years, and I've found that it has certain connotations that aren't necessarily true. I've had a handful of conversations with friends where they say, "I really want to do yoga, but..." followed by a statement that's either incorrect or not important anyway.

Yoga is great for a lot of reasons. Most simply, it's a block of time that you are setting aside to focus on yourself, inside and out, stretching out your muscles and getting a little peace of mind. Still, some people just aren't into it, so I'm not here to persuade you to do yoga if you don't want to. Instead, I'm talking to those of you who want to get into it but haven't because...

1 | I get discouraged sometimes about my numbers online – blog post pageviews, Instagram followers, Twitter followers. They're all too low considering the number of posts, considering how long each account has been around.

I said something about this on my Instagram story and received a comforting message from Afoma in response: "Slow growth means deep roots. Trust me. You're connecting with people and that's what matters." Who knows if that's actually true, but I like to think it is.

Generally, my blog content and the news do not cross paths. A few of my monthly wrap-ups may have included links to articles or posts related to current events, but the primary focus has never been discussing what is going on the world. And boy is there a lot going on.

I've gone back and forth many times about whether to post on here about Trump. I usually turn to Twitter for that. I like that my blog is lighthearted. I like that it's a place to escape from the dumb shit in the world. At the same time, I also feel a moral obligation to speak up. I don't want to shy away from writing about topics with more substance when they need to be written about. As somebody with an outlet not only to write but to really speak, it's important for me to do so.

I've decided to try out this series, which I've seen done by Rachel Del. Every Sunday, she posts a short list of three things from the past week – thoughts she had, events she went to, anything. I read them every week. It's a nice peek into her mind. I enjoy the posts as a reader, and so I thought, hey, I think I might enjoy those as a writer too. They'll keep me thinking, keep me writing, keep the wheels turning.

I don't want these posts to feel repetitive with my monthly wrap-ups. The way I see it, the wrap-ups are more of a place where I share my interests and more significant life updates. These posts will be the little things in between, a space where I can think aloud. I can record a thought I had without turning it into a full post. Sometimes a thought is just an inkling, worth mentioning but nothing to expand on.

Take everything you've been told about diet and exercise, and forget it.

Just kidding.
Sort of.
More like, take everything you've been told and remember that those are not set-in-stone rules. Because if there's anything that doesn't have a rule book, it's diet and exercise.